Thematic Parallels
by Rose Jennison
Summary: I had this conversation with my brother: Me: So were you also creeped out by Rhea singing to you with your head in her lap? Bro: Definitely. I got the feeling that I'm Steven and Rhea wants Pink Diamond back. Me: OMG same. So then I wrote the Holy Tomb scene having a sequence of events very similar to White Diamond trying to get Pink Diamond back. Enjoy!


**AN:**

So, I had this idea for a while, but I was really spurred on to actually write this by two things. One was some really good fan fiction of this series (check out the works of Lady Aconite (LadyAconiteWolfe) on AO3 because they are amazing) and a conversation I had with my brother about the game. Said conversation basically went like this:

Me: So were you also creeped out by Rhea singing to you with your head in her lap?

Bro: Definitely. I got the feeling that I'm Steven and Rhea wants Pink Diamond back.

Me: OMG same.

So I felt really compelled to do this re-imagining of the Holy Tomb going like a well known Steven Universe scene. FYI, I've only played through the Golden Deer route of the game so far, so that's who will be accompanying Byleth to the Holy Tomb. I may rework it and add chapters of her heading other houses once I get to know their character's better.

* * *

Byleth didn't know what Rhea hoped to accomplish by bringing her and all of her students down to the Holy Tomb. Rhea had said it was so Byleth could receive a revelation from the Goddess, but how much more of a revelation could you get after you'd had said Goddess living in your head for several months and then fused directly with that Goddess in order to escape being trapped in another dimension?

A part of her hoped that, whatever this ritual was, it would allow her to speak to Sothis again. She missed having her constant companion, even if she'd only been speaking to her for less than a year. Sothis had become a comfortable weight on her shoulders, like a warm blanket or heavy coat. One that left her feeling exposed upon it's removal.

There was also the fact that she'd been left with certain...doubts ever since she and Sothis became one. Everyone had been so surprised and taken aback by Byleth's change in appearance. She'd tried to convince everyone that she was still the same person, but that was hard to do when she herself was doubtful of it. It was hard for her to recognize herself sometimes. Whenever she caught sight of her own reflection it took her mind a minute to recognize that it really was her staring back from the mirror or the pond. Then there was everything her father had written in his journal, and how muted her own emotions had been before Sothis had awakened. With all that combined, she'd began to wonder just who she was. Had Sothis replaced Byleth when they fused? It seemed possible, given how strange everything had felt since then. If so, just how soon had that process began? Had Byleth ever truly been a person in the first place? Or was she just a placeholder, a stand-in that had gained more consciousness than expected?

Whatever the case, Byleth hoped that there would be answers in the Holy Tomb.

* * *

Rhea was so excited she was nearly vibrating with the effort to keep still. It had happened. She'd finally done it! She had brought her mother back from the dead and given her soul a new body to inhabit, and now all she needed to do was give that that body and soul one last push. One more push, and 'Byleth' would remember who she truly was, and then they could have their family back together again. Maybe her mother could even create new members for their family, as she did long ago. Wouldn't that be amazing?

Rhea didn't allow herself to worry about her past failures. None of them had ever shown the signs that 'Byleth' had, so they held no bearing on what was to come. Plus, with the way she had prepared the Holy Tomb and her mother's throne, she knew this last push would be successful, there was no way it couldn't be!

A part of her wished everyone in the world could be there to witness the rebirth of their Goddess. A larger part of her was happy that this would be a somewhat private affair. She had invited Seteth and Flayn to come along, though she hadn't explained yet what was going to happen. She wanted to see the looks of surprise and joy on their faces firsthand. Seteth had expressed some disapproval over what he suspected she'd done, but that wouldn't matter soon. Surely he couldn't argue her methods once he beheld the results. Plus, they deserved it for being such good and loyal family members.

Rewarding loyalty was also the reason the Golden Deer house was here. She had wondered for a bit whether or not Sothis's soul was truly back when Byleth had chosen to lead the students from the Alliance. The Kingdom had ended up being the most devout of the three countries after all, but under her mother's guidance the Golden Deer had shown true talent and loyalty. As always, her mother knew what she was doing. So, seeing how attached Sothis's vessel had become to the humans and how well the humans returned that trust, Rhea had made sure they would be here too. Perhaps once Sothis had truly awakened then she would choose to make the members of the Golden Deer house her disciples, spreading word of her return to the edges of Fodlan.

It was with this hope that Rhea watched Byleth ascend the stairs to the throne.

* * *

Claude held his breath as Teach reached the top of the stairs. He knew he wasn't the only one; the Holy Tomb's cavernous design picked up on any little sound so he heard his companions' breath still alongside his own. Calling himself or any of the others 'curious' would be an understatement. After everything that had happened to their professor, and Rhea's insistence that Byleth was about to communicate with Fodlan's Goddess, nobody wanted to miss a single second of...whatever was about to happen. Personally, he was just eager to get more clues about their mysterious professor. He wasn't sure how all of this 'divine' stuff fit into the puzzle he was trying to put together; his previous talks with Teach left him with the knowledge that she knew very little about the church and had only been mildly interested in finding out more. Being blessed by the Goddess didn't really fit into his picture of Teach, but that just made him even more eager to find out what was going on. Off to the side, even Seteth and Flayn were watching the proceedings with wide eyed wonder, though he was pretty sure he saw some apprehension in how stiffly Seteth was holding himself.

Teach turned around, and Claude felt himself and those around him lean forward. She slowly sat down, and finally rested upon the seat.

For a couple seconds, nothing happened. Then everything happened.

There was a bright burst of light. It seared his eyes, and he threw an arm up to try and protect them. He really should have closed his eyes, eyesight was important for an archer after all, but he was glad he didn't. If he had closed his eyes, he would have missed seeing the shape that was thrown out of the light, soaring over their heads and landing hard behind the group of students. Claude turned to follow it as best he could, ducking around Lorenz and Lysithea when they blocked his view. When he locked on eyes on the shape, he felt his stomach drop.

Because that shape had been Teach. Teach, who was now laying on her side on the cold stone floor, her eyes open but clouded with pain, and her entire body shaking.

"Teach!" he cried, running to her. He heard cries of 'Professor!' go up as the others turned and saw what he had. Despite having been at the head of the group, he was one of the first to reach their professor. He knelt down in front of her. He quickly looked over her, but found no obvious sign of injury. Did that mean she had internal injuries?

"Professor! What the heck happened?"

"Professor are you okay?"

Raphael and Ignatz were the first to join him in hovering over their professor. She didn't reply, just kept shaking and taking stuttering breaths, and soon the two boys were ushered out of the way by Marianne's quiet, but frantic voice. He moved over too, knowing Marianne would work better if she had space. Seeing Marianne start her inspection made Claude wonder though, where was Rhea or Flayn? Both were excellent healers, so why were they ignoring what was happening?

Claude spun around, planning to call for them, but hesitated when he saw them. Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn, were all still off to the side where they had been standing. Flayn had changed position, now standing in front of her brother rather than beside him. With the way he had his hand on her shoulder, it looked as though she had started to move, and then he had stopped her. Now both of them were staring at the throne with open mouths. Rhea started at the throne too, but with a smile that was a little too wide and eyes that were too bright. Claude followed her gaze.

The light that had come from the throne was still there, but it was smaller now. Not dimmer, but smaller, like it was trying to take on a concentrated form. And as he watched, that's exactly what it did. The edges of the light shifted and solidified until it took on a defined shape, a silhouette if he had to guess. It also started to change color, going from blinding white to a soft green.

_'It's the same exact shade Teach's hair was just recently.' _he thought to himself._ 'Wait a minute...'_ he tore his eyes away from the light and looked back at their fallen professor. Marianne was still hunched over her, but her slim form was not enough to hide the waves of teal hair that once again sprouted from Teach's head. In his worried rush, he hadn't even noticed the color change.

Claude heard a gasp from behind him, and whirled to face the throne again. Dang it, there was too much going on all at once! He saw that the silhouette had become even more defined, hinting at a person of very small stature and mass of thick hair that nearly brushed the ground. It seemed the gasp had come from Rhea, who looked even more creepily delighted now than she had a second ago. But that expression soon shifted to confusion as the light's shape began to change again. The silhouette stretched out, starting to resemble an adult more than a child. The hair became shorter, making the arms and shoulders more recognizable, and started to take on a very familiar style. Claude's own jaw fell open as the light began to take on details, and that familiar hair became matched with a familiar face.

How could his Professor be both collapsed behind him and glowing up there in front of the throne?

"Claude!"

Marianne's desperate voice had him turning once again. Lysithea was now hunched over the Professor too, clenching her fist the way she did when she was particularly frustrated with something, and Marianne looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Claude, nothing we do is working! I can't find any sign of injuries, internal or external, but she's still in so much pain, and none of my healing spells are doing anything for her!"

Claude felt like his brain was going to overload with how fast it was going back and forth between confused awe and mounting dread. But he couldn't let himself freeze up, not now. He put a hand on Marianne's shoulder, and she understood the silent command to move aside.

"Teach." He spoke, softly but firmly. "Can you talk to me? Tell me what's wrong, or at least where it hurts."

Maybe it didn't make sense to try and get answers out of their teacher with how much pain she was clearly in. But the two other authority figures in here weren't doing anything, and an instinctual part of him shied away from the thought of doing anything that would draw Rhea's attention. Byleth continued to stutter and gasp, reaching a shaky arm forward.

"I...I ca...I need..."

"What?" Rhea's voice took away the very question Claude had been about to ask. He turned back to look at the scene unfolding in front of the throne. The glowing figure wore Teach's signature blank look, seemingly unaware of the angry and confusion radiating off of Rhea. Seteth's gaze shifted back and forth between Rhea and the figure, looking almost as lost as he did the days of Flayn's disappearance, and the girl herself clung to the man's sleeve.

"What is this? Where is Sothis?" Rhea demanded. Seteth gave her a bewildered look.

"Sothis? Rhea, what are-"

"She's gone."

Claude thought the tension in the room had been thick before, but that was nothing compared to how those words made the atmosphere feel. Claude hardly dared to breathe under the invisible weight that filled the room, and was pretty sure the rest of his house was in a similar state. The words had come from the glowing figure. The words were such a familiar deadpan tone, yet they reverberated oddly throughout the room, making them feel strange and dangerous. The contrast was jarring.

"What. Did you say?" Rhea asked, voice low and deadly.

The figure stood still and stared forward, as though they hadn't heard.

"Answer me!"

Now, the figure turned, slowly and steadily, until they locked eyes with Rhea.

"She's _**GONE**_."

It was like an explosion went off. There was no smoke or flame, yet a force burst forward from the figure. The whole room shook, and a crater appeared beneath the figure's feet. Fissures rent the ground, causing stone structures to topple or shift. Claude felt his own bones trembling as one of them split the stone throne in two.

When the shaking finally stopped, and the dust began to settle, the room was filled with hushed, worried sounds. Rhea looked completely stunned. Flayn was sniffling like she was about to cry, while Seteth held her in a strong, protective grip. His eyes darted between the throne and the exit. Like he desperately wanted to flee and get Flayn to safety, but he couldn't tell if trying to do so would trigger something else to happen.

The Golden Deers were in a state. Leonie leaned heavily on her lance, still recovering from the violent vibrations, even as she crouched defensively over their fallen professor. Raphael had a steadying hand on Ignatz's shoulder, and looked to be the only thing keeping the smaller boy from falling over. Lysithea had not been so lucky, and had been sent sprawling onto the ground. Lorenz was helping her up, and for once the white haired girl didn't complain about not needing help. She didn't say a word in fact, not to comment on Lorenz's trembling hands or her own. Marianne crouched on the ground, tears spilling from her eyes and hands covering her ears while Hilda knelt beside her and held her close. From the look in Hilda's eyes, it was hard to tell if the action was meant more to give comfort or get it. Meanwhile, Claude was staring up at the throne, every muscle in his body tense, as he saw that the figure's gaze had moved from Rhea and onto him and the rest of the house.

"Ple...please...I nee...help..."

Claude heard Teach's shaky voice, and looked down at her, as did the rest of the house. She was staring back at the figure with more intensity, more need, than she'd ever allowed to show on her stoic face before. She reached out again, whole body still shaking, and shifted like she was trying to get up.

That's when something clicked for Claude. He looked back up at the figure, and saw that they were now walking forward. Slow and steady, but unimpeded by the now rough terrain, or sometimes the lack of terrain as they stepped on holes like they were solid ground. As they got closer, it became clear that the figure was staring not at them, but at Teach.

"What are you doing?" Rhea's shaky demanded went ignored by both the figure and Claude.

"Guys, I have an idea." It spoke volumes to how shaken they all were that no one made a disparaging comment, not even Lorenz. "Both Teach and that figure are really focused on each other. And with how things happened earlier, I'm pretty sure either they came from Teach, or Teach came from them, and if we want to help her and stop whatever craziness is going on right now, we need to get them back together."

"You want us to approach that being? After what they just did?" Lorenz asked incredulously.

"AND hand the Professor over to them?" Lysithea asked, matching his tone.

"I know it sounds crazy, but just look at them!" He argued. Both of them looked grim as they took in their professor's appearance. "And either way, that being is coming over here, so we have to do something."

"Let's do it." Hilda said. "Claude, you get one side, I'll get the other."

"No way!" Raphael interrupted. "My muscles were made for this! You guys stay here and make sure everyone's okay!" Without any more warning the boy scooped the professor in his arms and started marching forward. She lay in his arms like a ragdoll, head lolling to the side. But here eyes didn't leave her glowing counterpart. "Hang on Professor, you're gonna be okay!"

"No, this isn't...stop! Don't any of you take a single step further!" Rhea's voice rang out. Her hair was disheveled, and the ornaments had fallen out or were askew.

"Rhea! Rhea what is going on? What is all of this?" Seteth demanded of the Archbishop. He was ignored. Just like the glowing figure of the Professor and Raphael ignored Rhea herself. Rhea's face twisted in anger.

"I said STOP!" She flung out her hands, and a magic spell flew from her fingertips.

"Raph!"

"Stop!"

"No!"

The Deers cried out, knowing full well that Raphael was the least among them qualified to handle a magical attack. They surged forward, hoping to do something, anything, to help, but they couldn't make it before the spell struck it's target.

But the target turned out not to be Raphael or the professor, not the one he was carrying anyway. The tall boy turned away, shielding himself and the professor from that light that engulfed the glowing figure. When it faded, the figure appeared completely unharmed. They were looking at Rhea again, their arm stretched out toward her, and just in front of that hand was a glowing green barrier. After a moment, the being lowered their arm and the barrier faded. They started to walk forward again.

Rhea snarled, straight up _snarled_, and threw out another magical attack. This one was stronger than the last, but was met with the same fate.

"Rhea!" Seteth grabbed her shoulder. "Please, stop! Whatever is happening, please just-" Rhea threw him off her hard enough to send him sprawling onto the ground.

"Father!" Flayn cried, rushing to his side.

_'Well,'_ Claude thought to himself _'that's something to unpack later.'_

"Sothis! Mother! I know you are in there! I know it! Please, come back!" The figure ignored her once again, and her face twisted even more, and her voice became unnervingly calm. "I thought that sitting on the throne would be enough, but if that wasn't a strong enough push, then I'll just have to make it stronger!"

Claude didn't know how to describe the attack that came next. Light flooded the room, and sent everything shaking again. Within moments, another pulse of energy burst from the glowing professor's location, and this time nearly everyone was sent to the ground, including Rhea. Raphael was one of the few who stayed upright, probably unwilling to drop their vulnerable professor even under these circumstances, though it looked like it had taken a lot out of him.

"St-stop!"

The stuttered word had everyone looking at the Professor. She clung feebly to Raph, but she still looked at her counterpart, clearly addressing the words to them.

"Please stop...you'll hurt them." the Professor begged. The being looked at Byleth for a moment, then nodded minutely. They walked forward, finally closing the gap and standing in front of Raphael and the rest of the house. They held out their arms expectantly and Raphael carefully lowered their professor into them.

The two nearly identical beings stared at each other for a moment. Then the Professor did something that stunned Claude and the others nearly as much as everything else that had happened.

She smiled.

Not the small smile that had started to grace her features just recently, but a smile so big and joyful that it nearly split her face in two. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, and she threw her arms around her counterpart's shoulders with a wet laugh. The being's eyes went wide in surprise, the first expression they had shone since appearing in front of the throne, but after a moment, they started to grin.

They hugged the Professor back tightly, and started to spin around. The pair hugged and laughed and spun in some uncoordinated dance that made the two laugh even more, happiness and relief pouring off them in tangible waves. As they spun, the figure's green light started to glow brighter, and the more they laughed the brighter it got. Soon the light spread to the Professor as well, filling her whole frame with a bright glow and blurring the lines between them. Until, eventually, there were no lines at all.

The shape of them, of her, moved and shifted once again. When the light faded, Byleth stood there. She hugged herself, light green hair brushing her fingertips, and her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Teach!" Claud called. He ran up to her, looking her up and down in awe. "Teach, are you okay? Are you...?"

She looked at him, and his heart stuttered at how openly she smiled at him. "Yes, I'm okay. In fact I've never felt so...me. I'm me." Her eyes turned down, and her smile became something smaller, more private, but no less joyful. "I've always been me."

Byleth understood now. Byleth was not a placeholder, nor had Sothis replaced her. They were a part of each other. That's why everything had seemed dulled when Sothis was asleep, because a part of her had been asleep. Sothis waking, and them fusing, had been like fitting in the last puzzle piece into a picture.

"NO!"

Rhea's anguished cry made everyone up in surprise. There were tears in her eyes too, but these were far from happy. She beat the ground with her fists and yelled:

"You are Sothis! That is HER power! You aren't supposed to look like this! Or sound like this! You are- you...are..."

Rhea suddenly slumped face first onto the ground. Flayn stood over her, with arms outstretched and teeth clenched in outrage. Seteth sat behind her, looking a bit dazed.

"Flayn?" Leonie said in surprise. The sound of her name made the girl jump, and she instantly became apologetic.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry everyone! We didn't...I should have done that sooner."

"It's fine Flayn, it's not your fault." Ignatz spoke up. "I'm not sure what exactly you did though."

"Oh, well, you know I've been studying how to use magic for healing for quite some time, yes? Well, I learned a spell that acts similarly to a strong sedative. Considering what was going on, I thought it might be best to try it."

Claude laughed. "I don't think anyone is going to argue that decision. You both doing okay over there?"

"We are fine now, I believe. F- uh, Brother hit his head a bit when Lady Rhea pushed him down, but I've healed him now. You are feeling better now, right brother?"

Seteth nodded heavily, and looked down at Rhea. "Yes, I am physically fine."

There was a lot to unpack from that whole sequence of events, but doing so could be put on hold for a while. For now, they could all just appreciate that the craziness had ended, at least for a while. And they could revel in the fact that their Professor was whole and hale before them, and seemingly more free than she had ever been before.

* * *

**A.N.**

And there we have it. What happens next? What changes result from Rhea's outburst? What does it mean that we haven't seen any sign of the Flame Emporer? Heck if I know, I just wanted to do this one scene, so I didn't really think past it. But if any of you have any ideas for a follow up, be they serious or crack, feel free to tell me about them. I'd love to hear your thoughts, and if any of them spark inspiration to write more then I'll certainly credit that to the comment/review responsible.

The idea of a follow up does make me think of one conversation that might happen in the future that is similar to a Steven Universe scene:

Rhea: Sothis! Look what I have for you!

Seteth: Rhea, we've talked about this. Byleth is...?

Rhea: (sighs) A human woman.

Seteth: And Byleth is...?

Rhea: Not Sothis.


End file.
